Young John Allen Papers

Young John Allen Documents

[Letter from Young John Allen to Dr. Lehon, 1868, (date unknown)]

My dear Dr. Lehon,

Your letter of June 18th from N. Binh
[unclear]
is at hand. Thanks for your
kind expression to us personally, and the assurance of your increasing interest
in the China Mission.

We are happy to be brought once more face to face with you and the Board, under
new and more promising circumstances, and gladly availof
[unclear]
the
present opportunity to renew a correspondence which has been
[added]
so long violently suspended.

We were from Oct. 1861 till March 1866 without communication or remittance from
you, the war having interrupted the one
[unclear]
and so impoverished our
people, that we did not expect [gap 1 word ]
[deleted]
the other
[unclear]
. No
alternative or means was left us therefore during that long interval to meet our
wants and promote the welfare of your mission
[unclear]
other than a judicious use
of the mission
[unclear]
property and personal effort.

In 1862-4-5 I sent home duplicate
[added]
reports, duplicated
[deleted]
of each year respectively, showing the
condition and prospects of the mission
[unclear]
at the date of each
communication. In July of this year I forward a full statement of the mission
finances to Dr. McFerrin which I presume will have reached you
ere
[unclear]
this comes to hand, and will therefore
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obviate
[added]
the
necessity for introducing particulars into this letter. From that statement you
will be able to ascertain how far we succeeded in accomplishing our object and preserving the mission alive, comparatively free
from debt
[deleted]
the preservation of the mission free from debt, intact in
property and efficient in labors. Suffice it therefore to say here that when Bro.
Cunningham left here
[deleted]
for America he placed the
management of the mission's finances in my hands; the
mission
[deleted]
The Mission was in debt at that time to the amt of 1 thousand
taels and he left with me upwards of six hundred taels in treasury. That was Oct
[added]
1861. In Jan 1866 nearly five
[deleted]
more than four
[added]
years later
the mission was in debt only
[deleted]
for an amt. less
than 1 thou
[unclear]
taels with an empty treasury. thus
[deleted]
establishing
[deleted]
a result accomplished, without
either sacrifice or mortgage of mission
[unclear]
property or serious interruption of
our labors by personal effort. Our difficulties and embarrassments have been
complicated and preplexing, the existence of the mission was periled, anxiety
[deleted]
interest
[unclear]
solicitude to keep
the mission
[deleted]
it
[added]
untrammelled till the close of the war and the renew
[added]
al of commerce & remittances from home could come to our
relief, absorbed all our thoughts and shaped all our efforts. Should you and the Board
[deleted]
We hope therefore that
the result
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accomplished and the present situation of the Mission which not all it could be desired
[added]
will be as
gratifying to yourself and the Board as it is to us who have struggled so hard
to outlive our adversities.

Having premised thus much as to the past I will now proceed to answer your
questions as far as I may in
[deleted]
seriation
[unclear]
.

1st The Mission property consists of three premises, known respectively as the
Cunningham house, at present occupied by Bro. Lambuth. The old
Lambuth house, at present occupied by the French
[unclear]
as a
police station and the new Mission premises occupied by
myself and Bro Wood, which was built with part of the proceeds of the sale of
the place known as the Dr Jenkins' house. Besides the mission has a small place
purchases of Lien Sien Sang
[unclear]
our native preacher, and
occupied exclusively by Chinese. In addition to the above there are two small
chapels, one situated near the center of Shanghai City and one outside the city
on the new Mission premises, where it was moved in 1862 in
consequence of the French making new roads and shutting
[unclear]
it
in where it formerly stood on the Cunningham lot.

There is also a preaching place fitted up at Nan Tsiang
[unclear]
about
16 miles from Shanghai and one in Ka'ding
[unclear]
, both of which are
owned by the mission and
[deleted]
. They were purchased however
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not by mission funds, but with means
contributed to me for that purpose by some generous persons in the community.
All these places, with the exception of the preaching
place in
[added]
are now in good repair and comfortable. Their value
however at this is merely nominal- indeed I doubt if they could be sold at any
price- not because they are not desirable or valuable, but the demand for them
has abated- speculations in land & houses has ceased and the war in
America which concentrated many foreigners here and brought large trade and the
Rebellion here having been put down allow the return of the great influx of
Chinese population has depressed the market and driven all such things out-
hence the best valuation I can now set upon them is the appraisement value made
by the French
[unclear]
with a view to taxation. All our premises are
in the French Concession, which amount in the aggregate is about 15 thousand
taels or 20 thousand Mexican dollars more or less. The church property will
perhaps amount to two perhaps 3 thousand taels. They are all small and make
rather an insignificant show compared to other Mission Churches.

2d As to the membership of the Native
[unclear]
Church--It was
stated by Bro Cunningham at the Genl.
[unclear]
Conference I believe
that the number of native members was thirty, I do not
wish to contradict that statement